Saturday, 14 June 2014

Now that Hanabusa defeated, the Black Class' fatal game is over, which means that it's time for the truth about the real reason for its existence to be unveiled.

As was already becoming increasingly obvious, the Black Class was not created with the intent of seeing Haru killed, but rather as an initiation to see if she's suitable to become a "Primer" - a woman capable of using her charm or whatever other power compels people to follow and aid her, thus making her a valuable asset who could oversee and bring together numerous clans. Of course, Haru is having none of this - as far as she's concerned she has no special powers or anything of the sort, and she wants nothing more than to lead a normal life now that her ordeal is over.

These revelations have, however, left Tokaku feeling both confused and upset - was Haru really her friend, or simply somebody manipulating her (consciously or otherwise) simply for the sake of their own survival? With news also breaking to her that the riddles she's been receiving are nothing more than nonsense to which there is no true answer other than her own personal feelings, Azuma is left reeling, and takes it upon herself to affect some drastic actions while Haru continues to insist that she wants nothing to do with taking up a role within her clan - perhaps this assassination game isn't over yet, after all...

It doesn't have the immediacy of its content up to this point, and the "revelations" about Haru and her place within the game she's been embroiled in were hardly shocking given how heavily they'd been foreshadowed, but by this point I'm sufficiently invested in the show's cast (or at least what remains of them) for this week's episode to sidestep those problems and instead leave me focused on what will become of the relationship between Haru and Tokaku; all of which is helped by on by the wonderful Nio as ringmaster, of course. Again, the end to this week's episode is no huge shock, but it does serve as a nice cliffhanger as we enter the show's penultimate episode with everything placed on the line once again.